Day 121..."Covenant...Lofty...Shrewd Manager"

Israel had a covenant relationship with God. In honoring the covenant they were blessed. By dishonoring the covenant, they were subject to God's anger and judgement. Covenants are actually stronger than contracts. A contract is binding legally but a covenant in binding from the heart. Our Cokesbury staff has a covenant that we seek to honor. The 121rst Psalm is one of my favorites. IT IS LOFTY!!! "I lift up my eyes to the hills.From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord,who made heaven and earth." What an awesome statement! I have used this countless times and also the passage that God watches over our coming and going. The Parable of the Shrewd Manager may baffle a reader. Is Jesus commending dishonesty? No. According to Betty Hendricks there are three important points...1) the man was dishonest and fired and this is not commendable 2)
he made the best of bad circumstances (more commendable) 3) he was resourceful. This man made the best of his future, instead of despairing, by his wisdom (shrewdness). Children of light can make a great impact if resources are used wisely! Notice also the teaching of those who are "faithful with little will be faithful with much." How true! The test of character is in small matters as well as large matters. The teachings on divorce is understood more fully when exploring all of the contexts of Jesus' teachings. (See Day 38)